frankie's bookshelf

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Golly... I am finally finding some sort of normal... Medication adjustments take time and patience, and time and patience...

I canned a bit lately, and am missing my goats that we sold in the spring. The leaves are changing colors now in my yard and I am (almost) missing our usual weeks on end of cider-pressing. This is how I know I am getting back to normal... My husband also told me that he liked dinner tonight; finally a night without frozen burritos!

I'm still reading. I am LOVING Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. I am reading much slower than I normally do because I love his formation of prose. I tend to get lost in the poetry of the words and forget the action and movement of the novel itself. It is the story of a brother and sister, journeying with their father, to find their older brother who has been charged with murder. It is beautiful and clean fiction.

Side note: For leaving comments I believe all you have to do is click on the word "comments" at the end of each posting... Just in case...

books i've read:French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano - Okay, I know. Very "intellectual", right? I didn't learn how to eat growing up, so this book actually taught me a lot. It has a nice chatty tone, and even has some yummy recipes inserted. She shares tales of her childhood and tidbits and tricks to keeping healthy and happy.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling - This was a book club selection. I rebelled against reading it: I don't like fantasy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The "fantasy" was believable as it was knitted perfectly into real life situations. For those that don't know, it is the beginning tale of a young boy who has been raised without the knowledge of his parents' wizarding past and is about to embark on a journey of self-discovery and magic.Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams by Lynne Witney - After reading this biography, I decided that Mrs Adams and I would have been dear friends. It was well-written. It was not overwhelming and was decidely focused on issues that would interest women readers - what were the women doing while the men were politicking and fighting? Tallgrass by Sandra Dalllas - Admittedly, not my favorite Sandra Dallas novel. It was fairly predictable but the background story was interesting. The setting is a town in Eastern Colorado which housed a Japanese internment camp during WWII. It shared details of the ineractions between the detainees and the townsfolk. It is a murder mystery during this time of heavy suspicion. I liked The Chili Queen (also by Ms Dallas) much better for its shocking plot twist.The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale - Are fairy tale retellings fantasy? Maybe I enjoyed Harry Potter so much I decided the branch out. Who knows? I enjoyed this young adult book as well. I DO like stories that take place in a forgotten place during a forgotten time, and the author needs to take you there and show you this world... but without telling you everything. I enjoyed Ms. Hale's writing enough to read other her other books, too.

Do you read more during the colder months? Do you have a "to read" list for the winter?

I do - but it is always changing. It is a huge pile on my desk - one is the other book by Leif Enger. SoBrave, Young, and Handsome; Wilkie Collins's The Dead Secret; and Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens are some of the pile...

5. I am a chicken on a bicycle, but it is a necessary evil right now with no running...

6. I have begun to play the guitar again... admitting that takes guts... I was self-taught as a kid, and have occasionally picked it up off and on over the years. My husband is self-taught and I am envious. All my kids play brass in their school bands, and are self-taught in other instruments... I don't fit in unless I play something!

7. I love to sing - but I love to sing the harmony... I like supporting roles! :)

8. All my children are in school this year... I am lost. And lonely. I am not much company to myself yet. It'll come, I am told, but it is a surprise.

9. I love Whole Foods and would haunt the cheese section everyday if I had one in town.

10. I used to be a writer. I want to be one again. I journal, but that is not "creative" in the same sense as fiction or poetry...

11. I like to knit blankets. I have sewed one quilt, and I love when it is time to pull it out and put it on my bed. It's a "hug".

12. I love my curly hair (it hides gray pretty well!).

13. I need to laugh more...

BOOKS I'VE READ:A Rocky Mountain Christmas - John H Monnett - This is a collected history of Christmas celebrations in the Rocky Mountains. If you're a sucker for Christmas, it usually doesn't matter if the writing is fantastic or not... We Are Witness: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust - Jacob Boas - A simple and interesting read. It is written at a 5th grade level and is fairly short, but insightful. One of the teens covered is Anne Frank.Book Thief - Markus Zusak - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is the story of the bombing over Dresden, Germany during WWII. It is a book written for a teen audience, but it was quality writing and very imaginative. It was a complete tale.The Birth That We Call Death - Dunn and Eyre - This book is an examination of the next step we will all face... and that it is not and "end", but another of many "beginnings" that await us. It is a slim volume, and very uplifting and peaceful.The End of Food - Paul Roberts - A nonfiction look at what food was, and what food now is. It was a bit "clunky" with science and did not flow as well as Omnivore's Dilemna. It was informative, though.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

So, I'm feeling sorry for myself. I ran too hard playing in a softball game with old shoes and I think I have tibial stress fractures - in both legs. So no running for awhile.

But while I was running, I decided to admit a hypocrisy. I am a prude in books and movies, but I am more lenient in my music choices.

Here's my Golist on my MP3 that I run to:
Dream on - Aerosmith (my son loved this when he was two yrs old)
Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift (angry girl music - nice)
Everybody Dance Now - C&C Music Factory (reminds me I used to be fourteen)
Goat Girl - Tanya Donelly (my husband shared this song with me - I used to have goats)
Golden Years - David Bowie (from "A Knight's Tale")
Haunted - Taylor Swift (good cadence)
Iris - GooGoo Dolls (my personal theme song)
Love is the Answer - Weezer (I grudgingly like a Weezer song!)
Off the Hook - Barenaked Ladies (I love the emotion in this one, and I like their harmony)
Sweet Louisiana Sound - Billy Pilgrim (I like the first stanza and the guitar)
Taxi Taxi - Cher (techno-Cher is good for so many things!)
The Power - Cher (more)
We All Sleep Alone - Cher (and even more)
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred (makes me laugh)
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (thanks to the few Glee episodes I saw)
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga (I am ashamed, but I like this one... good harmony in the chorus)
Eye of the Tiger- Survivor (necessary for a runner)
F**kin' Perfect - Pink (keeps my head in my head not inside anyone else's)
Rhythm of Love - Plain White T's (poppy and bouncy)
Everybody - Ingrid Michaelson (poppy and bouncy, and very true!)
Alejandro - Lady Gaga (good beat and melody - keeps me running)
I've Gotta Feeling - The Black-Eyed Peas (I listened to the lyrics the other day and I'm schocked to admit I let my kids listen to this one!)
Enchanted - Taylor Swift (good cadence, starts slow and folky and becomes emotional guitar)

Friday, July 15, 2011

Tren did this on her blog and I thought how funny it was that we were so similar! I thought I'd share! She is in the regular type and I am in the all-caps.

1. Tattoos make me sad. I just don't understand why people get tattooed. It's like taking God's work of art and then putting graffiti on it. – I HAVE A TATTOO.I GOT IT WHEN I WAS A TEEN AND I STILL LIKE IT.I DON’T MIND TATTOOS AS LONG AS THEY ARE SMALL.HUGE ONES ARE RIDICULOUS.HAVING SAID THIS I WOULD BE APPROPRIATELY ANGRY IF MY CHILDREN GOT ONE B/COUR BODIES ARE TEMPLES.

2. I started drinking ice water a few weeks ago while visiting my sister-in-law, Alice. It was warm in her house, so I drank ice water to cool down, and now I'm still drinking it. Before now, I always preferred to drink water at room temperature. – I HATED TO DRINK WATER BEFORE I HAD MY KIDS- IT MADE ME NAUSEOUS.ROOM TEMP IS STILL MY FAV.

3. Hardly anyone reads my blog, and sometimes I feel sad about it. I tell myself that I write it for me, which is true, but it would make me happy if I felt like people (especially my family) were interested in my life and my children's lives. I love it when I get comments!NO ONE REALLY READS MINE EITHER!I LIKE COMMENTS, TOO.

4. I've never had a manicure or a pedicure.I HAD A PEDICURE ONCE, BUT I WAS TOO SELF-CONSCIOUS TO ENJOY IT.NAILS ARE NOT MY THING.

5. I don't like science-fiction.ME, EITHER.

6. I think root beer floats are amazing. Root beer is good. Vanilla ice cream is good. Put the two together and it's magical.GIVE ME THE ICE CREAM ANY DAY, BUT POP AND I HAVE BECOME SWORN ENEMIES – I WAS SLIGHTLY ADDICTED.

7. I don't like anything mystical or astrological.I USED TO BE INTO ALL OF THAT JAZZ AS A TROUBLED TEEN, BUT WHEN A PSYCIC TOLD ME TO BURN ROSE PETALS AND STREW THEM SOMETHING CLICKED IN ME THAT REALIZED THIS WAS NUTS!

9. I miss Kaffree tea. When I was a child growing up in Kansas, we drank sun tea made with Kaffree tea, which was an herbal tea that tasted like tea. They don't make it anymore, but I found out it was rooibos tea, which can be purchased from Celestial Seasonings online. I'm going to have to look into that.I USED TO DRINK COFFEE AND THEN WHEN I JOINED THE LDS CURCH I GAVE IT UP.THEN I DRANK PERO…MY GASTRITIS DIDN’T LIKE IT.NOW I DRINK CELESTIAL SEASONINGS BENGAL SPICE.I LIKE THICK AND HEAVY DRINKS AND FOODS.

10. I don't like seeing labels on clothing. I'm okay with buying my kids name brands as long as they aren't plastered across the clothing.ME, TOO, BUT I GAVE UP ON THE AEROPOSTALE WHEN SOMEONE ELSE WAS BUYING IT.I REFUSE TO DO PINK OR ANYTHING ELSE TIED TO SEX OR UNDERWEAR.

11. I love aspen trees. I wish I could live in big home in the mountains with lots of aspen trees and a creek running nearby.ME, TOO!IT’S BEEN MY FANTASY LATELY…

12. I think dogs are gross. I barely tolerate the two I have, and when they're gone, I'll have no more. Ever.I’M NOT A DOG PERSON EITHER, BUT IF MY HUSBAND DIES I WILL GET A SAINT BERNARD TO KEEP ME COMPANY!

13. I eat eggs for breakfast almost every day because I'm diabetic and I need protein in the morning. It gets old.I USED TO EAT EGGS ALL THE TIME, TOO.NOW I AM ON AN OATMEAL KICK (WITH HOMEMADE WALNUT BUTTER).I LIKE MIGAS OR HUEVOS RANCEROS OR VEGGIE OMELETTES THE BEST.I AM A SAVORY GIRL.

14. I often eat a whole bag of sugar snap peas in one sitting. 100 calories of sweet, crunchy goodness. No guilt.I DON’T CARE FOR PEAS AS MUCH…I’D RATHER EAT A BAG OF SPINACH STEAMED WITH GARLIC, EVOO, SALT AND PEPPER…YUM.

15. I have a way with babies. They hardly ever cry when I hold them.I’M NOT A BABY PERSON.I’M NOT A KID PERSON.I LIKE MY BABIES AND MY KIDS, THOUGH.

16. I love hiking.ME, TOO.

17. I have glasses but never wear them.I ALWAYS WEAR MINE.

18. I've been pregnant 7 times with 8 children, but only have 5. I hope to get to raise the other 3 someday.I’VE HAD FOUR PREGNANCIES AND FOUR KIDS.I’M IN A UNIQUE POSITION I GUESS.

19. I never buy myself perfume or jewelry.I ONLY BUY MY BATH AND BODY WORKS LOTION AND HAIR STUFF.

20. I like my showers really hot. ME, TOO.

21. I love the rain, and enjoy watching lightning storms.I LOVE THE RAIN; I HATE BEING IN THUNDER AND LIGHTENING.
22. I think boxing and wrestling are pointless and stupid sports.THEY HAVE THEIR MERITS – DON’T WANT MY SON IN THEM, BUT WOULDN’T OBJECT IF HE DECIDED OTHERWISE.

23. I don't like guns, but believe in the right to bear arms.ME, TOO.I WANT MY HUSBAND TO BE ABLE TO BRING HOME THE BACON IF NECESSARY AND ME TO KEEP MY KIDS SAFE.

34. My ears are pierced, but I very rarely wear earrings.ME, TOO…TOO MANY THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT

35. I long for friends, but don't feel like I really have any.I PRETEND TO BE SOCIAL WHEN I HAVE TO BE, BUT I AM A LONER…I AM A HOMEBODY AND NOT A VERY GOOD FRIEND.I’M PRETTY SELF-ABSORBED – NOT B/C I’M SO AWESOME, BUT B/C I’M CONSTANTLY TRYING TO “FIX” ME.

36. I do math in my head.I USED TO…I’VE LOST MY BRAIN SINCE WE BOUGHT THIS HOUSE...I’M TOO STRESSED I THINK.

37. I love "whites", as in fancy embroidered, lacy, stitched, linens and such.I LIKE THEM WHITE ON WHITE AND BLUE ON WHITE..EVEN A BIT OF BARN-RED IS GOOD.

38. I hate driving at night.YEP – AND ALL THE KIDS ACTIVIITIES ARE AT NIGHT!

39. I avoid left turns on busy streets and parallel parking.I WAS AMAZING AT THIS WHEN I LIVED IN THE CITY – NOW I AM A HICK WHO WILL PARK 6 BLOCKS AWAY TO AVOID PARALLEL PARKING!

40. I had Bells Palsy at 13 and again at 26.I HAVE HIDRADENITIS (SWEAT GLAND ISSUES – IT’S GROSS, SO GOOGLE ONLY IF YOU WANT MORE INFO).

41. One of my favorite features on my husband are his hands.MY HUSBAND IS HIS RED BEARD.

42. I hope none of my children ever join the military.AS A MOM, I AGREE… AS A CITIZEN, I WOULD BE PROUD TO BE SERVED BY THESE KIDDOS.

43. Turtlenecks make me claustrophobic.I CAN’T BREATHE WITH THEM EITHER, BUT I WILL SACRIFICE FOR A BLACK TURTLENECK WHEN I WANT TO LOOK FANTASTIC – IT MAKES ME LOOK TALLER!

52. My favorite burger is Big Burger World's small bacon cheeseburger with mayo instead of ketchup and mustard. It's what I order every time.MY FAV BURGER OF ALL TIME IN THE HUNTHER TOODY’S DAGWOOD – BURGER, FRIED EGG, TOMATO SLICES, MAYO…

53. I started collecting antique postcards last year, but I'm against collections in general.EXCEPT BOOKS…

54. I can whistle a tune, but not loudly.I CAN”T WHISTLE.

55. I learned to drive a stick shift in a cemetery.I LEARNED STICK IN A BEACH PARKING LOT.

56. I've never been to Disneyland, and now I have no desire to go or to take my kids there.NO DESIRE HERE, EITHER.

57. I had my first real kiss in the sixth grade. Ray Taylor was his name.HUSSY! LOL! I WAS 16 AND IT WAS AT A SUMMER PROGRAM AT BRANDEISUNIVERSITY…

58. I have eleven nephews and nine nieces.I HAVE MORE THAN I KNOW B/C I AM ADOPTED, HALVED AND BLOOD RELATED TO SO MANY PEOPLE…AND THEN I GOT MARRIED….

59. Both of my grandmothers are still living. ONE OF MINE IS LIVING.

60. I don't like Halloween, and I'm planning to not celebrate it starting this year.I HAVE FOND “SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES” MEMORIES/“MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS” MEMORIES OF A NEW ENGLAND HALLOWEEN… BUT IT’S OVERRATED NOW.

61. I took a "test" in high school that said I should be a preacher or a mortician.I HAD ONE THAT SAID I WAS GREAT WITH PEOPLE AND SOCIABLE AND I’D BE A GOOD EXEC…I’D RATHER BE A HERMIT.

62. I think Brian Regan is hilarious.WHO IS HE?

63. New notebooks excite me.LOVE THEM!

64. If I could talk to any woman, living or dead, I would choose either Eve or Mary Magdalene.EMMA SMITH OR ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH.

65. If I had to look like a celebrity, I would want to look like Charlize Theron.ANDIE MACDOWELL…SHE AGES WELL.

66. I don't buy toys that use batteries. I prefer simple toys that require imagination.ME, TOO.I RESISTESD THE STUPID LEAP FROGS FOR YEARS, NOW MY 10 YR OLD SEEKS THEM OUT AT THE LIBRARY!

98. If I could go on a $10,000 shopping spree in one store, I would go to Pottery Barn. My second choice would be a kitchen store, and my third choice would be Barnes & Noble.I WOULD GO TO WHOLE FOODS, DESERET BOOK, BARNES AND NOBLE.AND MAYBE A CLOTHING STORE…

We have been wildly busy this week: zoo trip, one child off to Girls' Camp, hiking trip that turned into rock-climbing!, running in the canyons, library trips, more doctor stuff for me and my IBS-C, couponing, planning church activities, kids have gone swimming, AND apple season has begun! Time to make applesauce and pesto this weekend!

Friday, July 8, 2011

My husband and I courted in the summer... so amidst the sweaty, dirty children, the messy house, the piles of laundry (I thought kids wore less in the summer!?), and tangles of weeds in the gardens... we manage to look over knotty heads and smile at each other fondly...

Books I've Read:Daisy Miller - Henry James - A classic novella of a young American woman in Europe... I should read it again because I remember NOTHING about it... hmmm...Chew On This - Eric Schlosser /C. Wilson - Fast Food Nation for kids.... My children loved it, too. It makes for interesting dinner conversation - especially the nights we eat our home-butchered rabbit!The Long Winter - Laura Ingalls Wilder - For years I would reread the entire Little House series again and again. I read them out loud to each of the kids as they approached a sitting still age. This is one of the more somber ones, but the thrilling attitudes and energies that made up our country's pioneers keeps me reading every time.Mayflower - Nathaniel Philbrick - This is a well-researched and well-written book about King Phillip's War in New Englad during the time of the Pilgrims and their children. I grew up in MA so it was interesting to get a new spin on the Puritans and their relationships and intrigues with the Wampanoags and other tribes.Christmas Jars - Jason F Wright - This was very hard for me to read. It is a contrived Christmas tale of "do-good"ing meant to initiate charity and kindness in us. It made me itch to be done. It was oversimplified and I actually had questions when the book ended about the characters. If fluff is what is needed, then read this in a couple of hours.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

I am tired today. Lots of activities and little time to read... unless you are at a free day at the pool with 136 lifeguards (not really 136! close though!) on duty b/c the whole town is there... then you can read - AND finish two books. I finished Mary, Martha, and Me, and Running for Mortals. I was impressed with myself. And now I am in that dead zone between books.

I've been reading The Homemaker, but it is hitting a raw nerve. It is so well-written, and the perceptions of man, woman, and child, so clearly displayed to us as readers, that it is hurting my feelings! It is about the effects/affects of a controlling wife, mother, and homemaker. She can do it all and does, but without the considerations of how her family is being beaten down with her fire. I am an intense mother - I am a mother-bear and desire some life lessons to be learned at home, safely, rather than in the scary grown-up world they will soon enter. I am not as passionate as this homemaker in taking care of the home, but my heart is breaking for her children. I actually find myself doing a personal inventory to make sure I am not hurting my children in the process.

Books I've Read:More With Less Cookbook - Doris Janzen Longacre - a no-frills cookbook that gets down to the business of making a dollar stretch. I have a lovely cream of tomato soup recipe from it the kids request often.Winter Wheat - Mildred Walker - This is a beautifully written story of a young woman growing up on a "wheat ranch" in this country in the middle of the twentieth century. It is a poignant tale of how her entire life is effected by the price of winter wheat. I have some more books by this author on my shelf and I look forward to reading them.To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - I think I first read this in high school and then I watched the Gregory Peck movie. It is an important, well-written book, touching on the issues of race and humanity in this country. Having said this, I never pick it up to read because I want to. Maybe I should try that once and see if I feel differently about it. It affects me and makes me angry and proud... maybe that's why it's not something I curl up with at night.The Dollmaker - Hariette Arnow - This is one of my all-time favorites. I fell in love with the main character and her struggles. Gertie is a wife from the hills of Kentucky during WWII; her husband is moving the family to Detroit to chase the "good life" in the war plants. She whittles - and that is what preserves her sanity in the difficulties of her new life. I talked out loud to the characters, I cried with Gertie, I gossiped with her neighbors, I ached for her children, I wanted to tell her husband the things in her heart... I felt a gamut of emotions and was glad to do it in this tale.Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi - Another profound book. A female professor in Iran teaches literature until the wars and government changes and restrictions prevent her from doing the job she loves. Students approach her on the sly and a "book club" is born. They read the classics and apply there themes to their own lives. Jane Austen's works seen through Muslim women is amazing...